I have no A/C. It's 97 degrees currently. Predicted 105 tomorrow and 108 on Thursday. I'll be sleeping in the basement.

AND DRINKING GALLONS AND GALLONS OF WATER because I don't want to have a deadly thirst incident.

BIKE CONTENT: Cannondale is giving me a new CX frame. Not exactly what I wanted, but it's free. Now I have too many bikes. Maybe I'll sell the frame.

-- Jay Beattie.

THE NEW BIKE IS AN IMPROVEMENT OVER THE CANNONDALE ?

please describe

Good question because I haven't built-up the bike or even seen the frame.

Compared to the old CX frame, the Search has a lower BB, longer head tube, longer TT, slightly lighter, and it has a better front-end feel. Very planted but not dead. I like it, but it's no sports car. The steering angles on the CX bike plus the pepperoni forks gave it a pretty heavy steering feel.

The Search also has new parts. The old CX bike was a mishmash of old parts, and I'm not exactly sure whether I want to hang them on a new bike. But I could -- particularly since 9sp chains last longer.

The new bike should be BB30 (per web specs) and not BB30A -- Cannondale's new PITA standard (standard 30mm ID, 42mm OD but a bottom bracket shell that is 5mm wider -- so you can't use a standard BB30 crank, but you can use Shimano Hollowtech with Wheels Mfg adapters). I wish it were threaded English.. The new frame also has flat-mount rear disc mounts -- meaning some sort of adapter for the BB7 or new rear brake (I haven't checked), and it has internal "tube" routing -- and I assume that works for ordinary cable housing. I'll need a new headset for a tapered steerer. It doesn't have through axles, so the other stuff should work. It has fender mounts -- but no through hole in the fork, so dyno light would have to go on bars unless I do some "under-crown" mount.

That is a major line-up. We don't have quite that selection but it's
adequate. However, since I started brewing my own it only matters during
rides. On some MTB rides far off civilization I take a home brew along.
Surpringly it stays very cool in a stainless double-wall thermos and the
constant shaking doesn't seem to harm it much.

Good stuff, just don't ride after too many of those. There are also in
Portland. Where else?

Hops liqueur? Blecchhhh. I'm not an atisanal liquor fan.

Marcos is kind of a dump (but about the only place you could buy espresso drinks 30-40 years ago in PDX). I was posting the picture of the dumpy market down the street with the massive beer collection. They have a zillion bottles and some really arcane stuff. Even the store that is about a third of a mile from my house has a good beer selection. There is a growler fill place across the street from that. You have to like to home brew as a hobby because it is super-easy to just walk down the street and buy a good beer. I have too many other chores to spend time home brewing, but maybe I'll try it when I retire.

That is a major line-up. We don't have quite that selection but it's
adequate. However, since I started brewing my own it only matters during
rides. On some MTB rides far off civilization I take a home brew along.
Surpringly it stays very cool in a stainless double-wall thermos and the
constant shaking doesn't seem to harm it much.

Peer pressure to try "cooler stuff" - harder drugs - hardcore
addiction - death. The closest one I knew was the 26 year old son of
the owners of my apartment. He had everything going for him, smarts,
beautiful girlfriend, then one day they found his bloated body upside
down in a canal.

Most others were in their 20's and their brains totally fried. Permanent
disability but still decades to have to go on with whatever "life" they
had left in them.

Nobody will convince me that liberalizing drugs is a good thing. Ever.

That is a major line-up. We don't have quite that selection but it's
adequate. However, since I started brewing my own it only matters during
rides. On some MTB rides far off civilization I take a home brew along.
Surpringly it stays very cool in a stainless double-wall thermos and the
constant shaking doesn't seem to harm it much.

Good stuff, just don't ride after too many of those. There are also in
Portland. Where else?

Hops liqueur? Blecchhhh. I'm not an atisanal liquor fan.

I don't know. My boss just brought me a bottle of Elijah Craig 12 year
old small batch bourbon. They don't sell it in Quebec but she lives in
Ontario. Not sure what you mean by artisanal liquor but this stuff is
good. Makes me miss New Orleans where I can grab it at the Breaux Mart
along with my tasso and andouille.
Marcos is kind of a dump (but about the only place you could buy espresso drinks 30-40 years ago in PDX). I was posting the picture of the dumpy market down the street with the massive beer collection. They have a zillion bottles and some really arcane stuff. Even the store that is about a third of a mile from my house has a good beer selection. There is a growler fill place across the street from that. You have to like to home brew as a hobby because it is super-easy to just walk down the street and buy a good beer. I have too many other chores to spend time home brewing, but maybe I'll try it when I retire.

That is a major line-up. We don't have quite that selection but it's
adequate. However, since I started brewing my own it only matters during
rides. On some MTB rides far off civilization I take a home brew along..
Surpringly it stays very cool in a stainless double-wall thermos and the
constant shaking doesn't seem to harm it much.

Good stuff, just don't ride after too many of those. There are also in
Portland. Where else?

Hops liqueur? Blecchhhh. I'm not an atisanal liquor fan.

I don't know. My boss just brought me a bottle of Elijah Craig 12 year
old small batch bourbon. They don't sell it in Quebec but she lives in
Ontario. Not sure what you mean by artisanal liquor but this stuff is
good. Makes me miss New Orleans where I can grab it at the Breaux Mart
along with my tasso and andouille.

I don't have the palate, and brown liquor tends to give me a headache. When the Scotch snobs convene, I zone out and leaf through Velo News. I follow beer a little bit because it is a big economic driver around here and basically a local pastime like Timbers' soccer or flogging Donald Trump. http://oregoncraftbeer.org/facts/

We do have a burgeoning craft distilling culture, but going to a single tasting would disable me for a week. I was getting some post-ski pizza with the family in Hood River and stumbled across a craft-ish distillery tasting room. It looked very inviting. http://www.drinkmemag.com/wp-content...-in-Oregon.jpg My wife looked at me and shook her head. Too far home on the Gorge in winter . . . at night.

however the cannah hold is extremely accelerated with 'drugs' lab developed near immediate blown effects for medicine where as CHOH esp scotch n soda, southern comfort ....require some hard work to arrive

That is a major line-up. We don't have quite that selection but it's
adequate. However, since I started brewing my own it only matters during
rides. On some MTB rides far off civilization I take a home brew along.
Surpringly it stays very cool in a stainless double-wall thermos and the
constant shaking doesn't seem to harm it much.

Good stuff, just don't ride after too many of those. There are also in
Portland. Where else?

Hops liqueur? Blecchhhh. I'm not an atisanal liquor fan.

I don't know. My boss just brought me a bottle of Elijah Craig 12 year
old small batch bourbon. They don't sell it in Quebec but she lives in
Ontario. Not sure what you mean by artisanal liquor but this stuff is
good. Makes me miss New Orleans where I can grab it at the Breaux Mart
along with my tasso and andouille.

I don't have the palate, and brown liquor tends to give me a headache. When the Scotch snobs convene, I zone out and leaf through Velo News. I follow beer a little bit because it is a big economic driver around here and basically a local pastime like Timbers' soccer or flogging Donald Trump. http://oregoncraftbeer.org/facts/

We do have a burgeoning craft distilling culture, but going to a single tasting would disable me for a week. I was getting some post-ski pizza with the family in Hood River and stumbled across a craft-ish distillery tasting room. It looked very inviting. http://www.drinkmemag.com/wp-content...-in-Oregon.jpg My wife looked at me and shook her head. Too far home on the Gorge in winter . . . at night.